Search

Background: Sustainable approaches to improving infant and young child feeding are needed. The Nutridev program worked in Vietnam, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso to test different strategies to improve complementary feeding using fortified products sold to families., Objective: To review the experiences of programs producing and marketing fortified complementary foods and to report on the feasibility of local production and marketing of fortified complementary foods to increase usage of high-quality foods among children of low-income families in a self-sustaining manner., Methods: Project documents, surveys of mothers, and production and sales reports were reviewed., Results: Nutridev experience in Vietnam, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso demonstrates that it is possible to produce affordable, high-quality complementary foods and supplements locally in developing countries. Strategies to make products readily available to the targeted population and to convince this population to consume them yielded mixed results, varying greatly based on the strategy utilized and the context in which it was implemented., Conclusions: In several contexts, the optimal approach appears to be strengthening the existing food distribution network to sell complementary foods and supplements, with the implementation of a temporary promotion and nutrition education network in partnership with local authorities (e.g., health services) to increase awareness among families about the fortified complementary food product and optimal feeding practices. In urban areas, where the density of the population is high, design and implementation of specific networks very close to consumers seems to be a good way to combine economic sustainability and good consumption levels.

The aim of this study was to test the ability of two new products, an instant infant flour and a food supplement containing amylases, to increase energy and micronutrient intakes of infants older than 6 months. Three groups of 48 infants were randomly constituted. Infants in groups 1 and 2 consumed at least twice a day gruel made either from the instant flour or from the food supplement. Infants from the control group received complementary foods prepared in the usual way. Each infant was surveyed during a whole day in order to measure feeding frequencies and characteristics as well as amounts of the different types of complementary foods consumed. Foods consumed by infants in the two experimental groups differed considerably in energy, micronutrient density and in consistency from the home-made complementary foods. Due to the incorporation of amylases, gruels made from the food supplement had a higher energy density, a more appropriate consistency and resulted in higher intakes per meal than gruels made from instant flour. In comparison with home-made complementary foods, both experimental products resulted in significantly higher energy and nutrient intakes. The two experimental products appeared to increase sufficiently both energy and nutrient intakes of infants to complement their breastmilk intake.